Race and Church History

The Church teaches today that all are alike unto God (2 Nephi 26:33) and that every person is a beloved child of Heavenly Parents. The essay on Race and the Priesthood says the explanations people gave back then for the restriction are not Church doctrine. Faithful Black members like Jane Manning James and Elijah Abel stayed strong through it.

On June 1, 1978, after extended prayer in the Salt Lake Temple, President Spencer W. Kimball received a revelation that the priesthood would go to every worthy man, regardless of race. The apostles who were there described it as one of the most powerful spiritual moments of their lives. It's now scripture — Official Declaration 2.

In September 1857, a small group of local Latter-day Saint militia — acting against what the Church taught — joined an attack on a wagon train at Mountain Meadows. About 120 emigrants were killed. The Church's essay tells the story plainly. President Henry B. Eyring publicly apologized at the site, and the Church has worked with the descendants ever since.

This essay covers a wider pattern of conflict in early Church history — including the Danites in 1838 — and puts it in the context of the severe persecution the Saints were facing. It's a real look at a hard period.